The Village of Port Chester is in the process of reviewing a proposal for a mixed-use building at 181 Westchester Ave. that would have 401 apartments, 24,950 square feet of commercial space and 414 off-street parking spaces. The applicant is 181 Westchester Ave LLC.
According to Attorney Anthony B. Gioffre III of the White Plains-based law firm Cuddy & Feder, “Approximately 14,200 square feet of the commercial space will be located within the existing building along Westchester Avenue, which is proposed to remain. The additional commercial spaces will be located along the Poningo Street, Irving Avenue, and Broad Street frontages which will activate those streetscapes and provide a more walkable character and enhance the pedestrian realm.”
The proposed new building would be 12 stories and would be designed to integrate the existing three-story structure, which dates from around 1900. The building originally housed the fabric and garment manufacturer Ernest Simmons Manufacturing Company, which produced Fruit of the Loom products. In the 1930s, commercial storefronts were added along with Art Deco architectural features. The site covers approximately 1.55 acres.
Gioffre said that there would be 143 studio apartments, 229 one-bedroom units, and 29 two-bedroom units. Ten percent of the proposed apartments would be priced as affordable housing for people earning 60% of the area median income. The off-street parking spaces would be located in a structured parking garage in the lower level and on the first story behind the proposed lobby and retail areas.
The developer would provide pedestrian improvements including new sidewalks, plantings, and lighting. Outdoor amenity spaces for residents would be located on the second story and on the rooftop.
The site is across Westchester Avenue from the St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, which is listed on the State and National Historic Registries.
“Any potential impacts to this listed resource will be mitigated by the design of the proposed development, which maintains the existing 3-story structure along Westchester Avenue and limits the proposed 12-story height of the building to portions of the North Pearl Street, Poningo Street, and Irving Avenue,” Gioffre said.
Gioffre pointed out that the Capitol Theatre, which also is listed on the State and National Historic Registries, is located approximately 110 feet to the southeast. He said that the recently approved 12-story development at 157 Westchester Ave. would be between the 181 Westchester Ave. development and the Capitol Theatre and, therefore, the new project is not expected to have any adverse impacts on the theatre.
According to a report by DTS Provident Design Engineering, the site is one block from the Metro-North train station at Port Chester. DTS says that a valet parking entrance driveway as well as a loading entrance driveway will be constructed on Irving Avenue.
DTS reported that in addition to being near the Metro-North station, bus stops for the Westchester County Bee-Line Bus Service are on Westchester Avenue between Broad Street and East Broadway and at Westchester Avenue and Poningo Street. DTS said traffic from the project would have little impact on nearby intersections and that no additional roadway improvements were being recommended as part of the project.
In a letter to Greg Cutler, Port Chester’s director of planning, Robyn Hollander of Metro-North noted that the proposed building would be close to five multi-use projects that would bring more than 1,500 new residential units to the area around the train station.
“Metro-North works with local communities and developers to encourage mixed-use development and Transit Oriented Development (TOD),” Hollander said. “Coordination with local communities who plan and implement mixed-use and TODs benefits Metro-North, as the proximity of these projects to our service promotes environmentally sustainable development and increased rail ridership.”
She said that Metro-North would want to know more about plans for pedestrian and bicycle connections to the train station.
“Increased pedestrian access to Port Chester Station may benefit from improved connections and facilities including, but not limited to sidewalks, lighting and streetscape,” Hollander said. “Metro-North is interested in the Village of Port Chester’s and the developer’s ideas for improving station access from the new development site, upgrading the station to accommodate increased use, and addressing any impacts the development may have on the station and the transit system.”
She said that rail trip generation studies should be done to help understand the impacts along Metro-North’s New Haven Line to connect residents and visitors to locations in Westchester and Fairfield Counties as well as Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan.
“Consideration should also be given to travel from Port Chester station to locations in the East Bronx via four new stations that are under construction along the Hell Gate Line as part of Metro-North’s Penn Station Access as well as to Penn Station New York itself on Manhattan’s West Side,” Hollander said.
